With carpeting and soundproofing now essentially complete, the latest work on our under-construction studio spaces involve the glass windows partitioning one room from another. There’ll be ample visibility between our studios, allowing on-air deejays or news readers to communicate more immediately with other staff members and vise-versa. (First-year volunteer Courtney Cousins is pictured, here, giving the studios a quick walk-through last month.)

As we wrote last month, the construction of our new studios themselves are now fully paid-for, although our work continues: not only to outfit our still-empty studios with the broadcasting equipment needed to make them useful but, also, to renovate our existing facilities to match. Of the $1 million we’ve projected we’ll need to finish this crucial undertaking, we’ve raised $821,682.70 as of January 15.

]]>http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2015/02/03/almost-ready-to-move-in/feed/0In the New Year, New Strides for Our Digital Studioshttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2015/01/02/in-the-new-year-new-strides-for-our-digital-studios/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2015/01/02/in-the-new-year-new-strides-for-our-digital-studios/#commentsFri, 02 Jan 2015 23:10:34 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=13751Both within our ledgers and within the walls of our nascent digital studios, we’ve made exciting strides even since our last newsletter hit the printers and the web.]]>

It’s been a long time coming, but we’re so excited to report that 2015 will finally be the year that our nascent digital studios make the transition from construction site to completed building.

Both within our ledgers and within the walls of our new office spaces, we’ve made exciting strides even since our last Static hit the printers and the web.

First, our finances: funds for the Tom and Florence Busch Digital Studios now stand at $815,532.70. Readers may note that this is a substantial increase from our to-date fundraising sum from even just a few weeks ago. This is thanks to a handful of major donations, the largest of which is a $111,000 grant from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, a nonprofit based in Washington state that helps support efforts to “strengthen the… educational, cultural, and spiritual base” of the Pacific Northwest (including Alaska).

The Murdock award was confirmed and made public just after our last Static deadlines for 2014, and we’re so grateful to begin the New Year with this surge of generosity and momentum. The Murdock grant caps off the generosity of so many thousands of individuals and endowment organizations and completes the necessary funds for our new construction.

To put it simply: the construction and outfitting of our new studios is now paid-for. The remainder of our fundraising goal — the $185,000 we have left to raise to push us to the $1 million mark — will go towards the renovations needed for our existing, current studios and facilities, including our AM transmitter site.

Inside our digital studios annex, mid-December 2014.

And our new studios are not only paid-for, but they’re also closer to being inhabitable. While they are still missing broadcast equipment, the spaces are now outfitted with proper soundproofing and energy-efficient, LED lights (such as those general manager Ric Schmidt is inspecting in the photo at top), and they’re being laid with carpeting as we go to press.

Thank you for standing with us for so many months as our studio project has inched closer to reality! We still have much work to do, but we couldn’t be happier with the state of our project as the calendar turns over into 2015. As always, to learn more, visit our digital studios page.

]]>http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2015/01/02/in-the-new-year-new-strides-for-our-digital-studios/feed/0Back to Work on Our Studioshttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/11/25/back-to-work-on-our-studios/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/11/25/back-to-work-on-our-studios/#commentsWed, 26 Nov 2014 01:16:57 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=13219As the holidays approach, work is again moving forward with our studios expansion and renovation project, The Tom and Florence Busch Digital Studios.]]>

One of the myriad challenges of living in sub-Arctic, rural Alaska is building construction.

With a relatively tiny pool of skilled construction crews, carpenters, and electricians, it can be difficult to avoid delays — oftentimes, unexpected ones — when creating new structures, even in the hub city of Nome (KNOM’s hometown). That’s definitely the case with our digital studios expansion project, although we’re heartened to report that, as the holidays approach, work is once again moving forward.

The photos above and below show the state of our Tom and Florence Busch Digital Studios as of mid-November. After some unanticipated construction delays in the late summer and early autumn that were beyond our control, carpenters David Booth and Randy Pomeranz (pictured) have been back at it. Among the most recent additions to the construction (as seen in the pictures) are highly energy-efficient LED lights, window sills, and soundproofing (still under plastic) for each studio room door.

As you may know, our studio expansion will give us a facility that’s not only larger but also, most crucially, more modern, easily-repaired and cost-efficient than before. For more details, we’d encourage you to explore our Digital Studios page on this website.

As of mid-November, our available funds for the project (including grants and pledges) stand at $702,177, slightly more than two-thirds of our overall project estimate of $1 million. Thanks so much to everyone whose support is making our future studios possible!

]]>http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/11/25/back-to-work-on-our-studios/feed/1Local Construction Continues While the City of Nome Anticipates Breaking Even in 2014 Financeshttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/09/24/local-construction-continues-while-the-city-of-nome-anticipates-breaking-even-in-2014-finances/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/09/24/local-construction-continues-while-the-city-of-nome-anticipates-breaking-even-in-2014-finances/#commentsWed, 24 Sep 2014 23:40:08 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=11929The September 8 City Council meeting saw updates on a few projects in Nome—including local construction and work on the Richard Foster building. ]]>

The September 8 City Council meeting saw updates on a few projects in Nome—including local construction and work on the Richard Foster building.

But before those discussions, City Manager Josie Bahnke began with some positive news on city finances.

“Good news coming from finance department—we’re just in the final throws of closing out [fiscal year 2014] and it looks like we will be breaking even, just about. There might be about a $2,000 difference to the good,” said Bahnke.

She said those are just preliminary numbers, and though she initially thought the city would have to dip into fund balance, with the budget amendment and an increase in revenue, she anticipates the city will break even.

Work on the Richard Foster building is progressing, with construction for sewer and water nearing completion. The museum and library commission is continuing to discuss what stories will be featured in the new exhibits.

Meanwhile, Nome Joint Utility System General Manager John Handeland said during construction on the port lighting project, some contaminated soil was found at the small boat harbor.

“Unfortunately, we did find a bit of dirty dirt there and did work with the city’s public works and DEC to establish a holding cell for that dirt pending the long-term mitigation of it,” said Handeland.

He said managing the area of contamination won’t have a major impact on timing of the project.

As for construction in town, Handeland says with work almost completed on 5th avenue, they’ll move on to 6th avenue by the beginning of next week, or earlier, to work on a water line between N and K streets.

]]>http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/09/24/local-construction-continues-while-the-city-of-nome-anticipates-breaking-even-in-2014-finances/feed/0Construction, Accolades, and Odds ‘n’ Endshttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/08/01/construction-accolades-and-odds-n-ends/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/08/01/construction-accolades-and-odds-n-ends/#commentsFri, 01 Aug 2014 14:30:31 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=10942Funds for our studio construction are now just shy of $700,000; Dayneé has received an award for her production work; and our entire station is a finalist for one of broadcasting's highest honors.]]>

We’re happy to report that our fundraising goal for our studio construction project, the Tom and Florence Busch Digital Studios, now stands past the two-thirds mark (of our $1M goal), at $681,489.63. Included within this sum are a $25,000 donation from the Amaturo Family Foundation and a combination of grant and matching grant funds from the Raskob Foundation for Catholic Activities, also totaling $25,000.

As work on our August newsletter wraps up, construction work in July is proceeding more slowly than we’d hoped, mostly due to the challenging lack of skilled workers in Nome. However, we’re still expecting that our studio building will be a completed office space, ready for equipment, by the end of the season. We ask for prayers for the work of our construction crew and for our ongoing fundraising efforts. As always, you can learn more about our project throughout this website.

We have a new award to add to the shelves! Dayneé Rosales (pictured) recently received a 2014 Communicator Award from the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts for her work both writing and producing our 2013 traditional Christmas play. Her production, “Mindy, the Ugly Christmas Sweater,” clearly impressed the judges as much as it did our listeners. Congratulations to Dayneé!

KNOM Radio is one of only five finalists for the 2014 Marconi Award for Religious Station of the Year; it’s an award given by the National Association of Broadcasters honoring overall excellence in broadcasting. Of course, we’ll let you know the outcome of this nomination in future newsletters, but as they say, it truly is an honor just to be nominated. So from all of us at KNOM, thank you for your support, and congrats!

We’re expecting our studio construction to hit another important milestone this month, with the interior spaces completed and ready for equipment!

With about $350,000 still to raise out of our original $1 million funding goal, the next steps of our studio campaign concern the new studios’ broadcast equipment and the funds needed to pay for them. You can donate and learn more here, and stay tuned for updates in future issues of the Static.

]]>http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/06/30/new-offices-empty-but-ready/feed/0Closer to our goal!http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/05/30/closer-to-our-goal/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/05/30/closer-to-our-goal/#commentsFri, 30 May 2014 21:50:44 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=9439Our goal – to raise $1 million for our digital studio expansion and renovation project – is a few notches closer to reality, thanks to the continuing generosity of so many supporters.]]>

The fundraising thermometer outside KNOM Studios is a few notches higher this month, thanks to the continuing generosity of so many supporters.

Our goal, as previous readers of our newsletter may know, is to raise $1 million for the construction of the Tom and Florence Busch Digital Studios, our studio expansion project, as well as for the renovation of our existing broadcast spaces and offices.

In the photo above, KNOM’s development data manager, Betsy Brennan, fills in our studio fund progress thermometer using a permanent marker and duct tape. (The latter is a key tool in rural Alaska; it’s been used as everything from a frostbite preventative to a quick fix for broken dog sleds.)

Our digital studio funds raised to date currently stand at $626,239.60, thus putting us just shy of two-thirds of our final target. We’ve raised this amount thanks to countless contributions from supporters like you, as well as a handful of grants and matching challenge pledges from both individuals and endowment organizations (like Alaska’s Rasmuson Foundation).

As the photos show, our latest update regards paint. Coats of the white stuff are going up, room by room.

The images here show carpenter David Booth carefully applying joint compound on the drywall seams in what will become our future newsroom – and then spraying the paint itself in a space that will be designated, in our new studios, for storage. (Note the special, spring-loaded metal stilts that David used to help him reach the ceiling!)

In the immediate future, work on our digital studios will turn towards the sub-floor, the studios’ electrical systems, and, before too long, the installation of our actual broadcast equipment.

We are currently working as hard as we can to pursue further funding sources for the studios’ completion; as we describe here, we’re nearly two-thirds of the way to our final funding goal. We ask for your prayers for these ongoing efforts, and as always, you can learn more – and donate yourself, if you choose – by visiting our digital studios page. Thanks so much!

The photos above and below – including general manager Ric Schmidt, reviewing blueprints – show our new studio walls now covered in sheetrock, ready for soundproofing materials. Our studio room doors are prepped for installation, and the infrastructure is nearly ready, also, for the studios’ electrical and ventilation systems.

Going forward, the next phase of our construction – and of the fundraising needed to make it possible – concerns the new studios’ broadcast equipment. As of mid-April, our digital studios fund stands at $607,904.35. We’re happy to report that this figure includes the fruits of a matching challenge pledge (for $50,000) from Alaska’s Rasmuson Foundation. In the past month, generous donors have pushed our funds over the line required for the Rasmuson grant.

With slightly less than $400,000 left to raise (to reach our project goal of $1 million), we encourage you to learn more about this project, either online or by calling us at 907-443-5221.

Through your support, we are (literally!) building the future of our radio mission. We believe our new studios will help ensure continued sustainability and growth for KNOM for decades to come. Thanks so much for your prayers, your well wishes, and your generosity.